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Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

LOL, I would so abuse the heck out of that. Launch children as a distraction against dragons. "Go, Mini-me!!" *FUS RO DAH*
I'm evil... >_>

Originally Posted by Triaxx

I always stick Wuuthrad on the plaque above the door, so any unlucky elf to enter will be killed when it falls and splits them in half.
Can't happen, but it's a humorous thought.

That does sound funny. I have Wuuthrad hanging up over my bed at Honeyside, but I've seen it fall off the plaque at least three times and THROUGH the bed... only to reset back on the plaque.

I don't sleep at honeyside. Ever. >_>

Oh another thing: I didn't notice before, but people do comment on the kind of enchantments I have on my weapon if I walk through town with the weapon in hand. Right now I have a bow that does extra fire damage and no one seems to want to be near me.
My favorite comment was one of the Khajiit caravans: "Fire is not a toy!!"

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

...I think I just had the most epic moment I've ever seen in Skyrim.

I'd previously cleared the Dragon's Lair at Autumnwatch Towers (south of Ivarstead, near the Ruins of Bthalft). Did so fairly early on. But I then recieved a bounty to go and clear it again, so I figured why not? It's one of my favourite dragon sites to clear, especially with a stealth character - climbing up the tower and stealth-attacking the dragon while it sleeps to see if you can kill it in one hit.
So I got on my trusty skeletal horsey and fast-travelled to Autumnwatch. Problem was, when I arrived, I wasn't alone - an Elder Dragon randomly spawned as I arrived, giving me two dragons to deal with. The battle woke up the Frost Dragon that lived at Autumnwatch, so I backed up a little toward the nearby Imperial camp to get some help. Problem: when I got there, the soldiers were fighting a second Elder Dragon.

Keep in mind this is Master difficulty, where one dragon can pose a considerable threat all by its lonesome, let alone three of the bastards, let alone if two of them are Elder dragons. And to re-iterate, I'm a stealth character, so there was going to be no hope of an Atronach or a Daedra to help me fight this battle. Not to mention that because I'd been planning on sneaking past a sleeping dragon, I'd told my follower to depart.
What I did have was a camp of Imperial meatshields, a full suit of upgraded Dragonscale Armour, two upgraded Dragonbone Daggers, one upgraded Dragonbone Bow, one upgraded Dragonbone Sword, 500 Dragonbone Arrows, and a pack full of potions. I also had a certain dragon named Durnehviir who owed me a favour or two.
The ensuing battle cannot be adequately described in words. One side consisted of me, Durnehviir, and the Imperial camp. The other side consisted of three very powerful and very pissed-off dragons. We also had some intervention from about four bears, three large frostbite spiders, and the bandits from the Ruins of Bthalft who heard the ruckus and came to investigate, all of whom randomly attacked anyone they bumped into. I have never encountered a battle like this before.
The Imperials did exactly what I expected them to do (they died like tiny, tiny bitches), but they managed to take down one of the Elder Dragons as they did so. The bears mostly wiped out the Bandits of Bthalft before getting roasted, while the spiders intelligently chose to attack me for reasons I'm not really clear on. They died. The bears didn't last long after they tried to melee the remaining Elder Dragon when it landed, but the distraction was enough for me to kill it. That just left the original Frost Dragon I'd come to Autumnwatch to kill, versus Durnehviir and myself. We managed to get it down to about 1/3 health, at which point it crash-landed halfway between Autumnwatch and the Imperial Camp. I equipped the Dragonbone Sword in one hand, a Dragonbone Dagger in the other, chugged a Resist Cold potion, and charged. With Durnehviir providing ranged support from above, it took about ten hits before I triggered the critical kill animation, jumping into its head and stabbing it through the eye. Durnehviir vanished almost immediately afterwards, leaving exactly one survivor of the battle: Me.

I then went back to Riften and I collected my 150gp bounty because I had goddamn earned it.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by Tergon

I then went back to Riften and I collected my 150gp bounty because I had goddamn earned it.

I love this game so much.

I can imagine a scene where you try to explain why you deserve so much more gold, and everyone in the room looks at you, looks at each other, and then says 'naaah', before tossing you a pouch of pocket change and telling you to be on your way.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

I like to think that Zhaan (my khajiit rogue) would have complained to the Jarl about the crappy reward: "You realise the dragon you sent this one to kill carried three times your paltry reward. Let alone the remaining spoils of the battle that were found, or the service performed to the Rift for Zhaan's actions."

But then he realised that if he said that, he'd probably be asked to pay 75% of his loot in tax, and so he wisely kept his mouth shut and went to blow his bounty on a single healing potion instead.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

While I've never quite reached that level of epicness... My favourite battle of all time also involved a bounty on a dragon, at Shearpoint I believe. I was playing as an archer rogue, and so was sneaking up the mountain. Keep in mind that this is fairly early game... I think I was still wearing leather armour and had an imperial bow equipped. Suddenly, dragon attack! I shrug, guessing that it spotted me through the sneak skill, and start fighting back... when the actual bounty dragon wakes up from the commotion and joins in the fray. Running to and fro, attempting to dodge attacks and fire off arrows, I eventually come near the wall and sarcophagus... which opens as a dragon priest wakes up too. Long story short, thanks to potions and terrain use I had the most fun combat that I had ever faced... I just pictured my char standing on the bodies of the slain heroically. Yeah, I'm the Dragonborn alright.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

I've been running around in Dawnguard, equipped with an awesome dwarven crossbow.

My (current) character is Archmage, and King of Thieves.

The problem I'm having (and it is most definitely a problem) is that I've gotten bored with the character.

I started out the run with a strict "no crafting" intent, leaving me reliant on drops. I quickly ended up being a mage, and when I found the Bound Bow spell, well, I transitioned into a more stealthy archer approach. Over time I've had to relax that restriction, if only because I rapidly run out of healing pots and am under armored/equipped to handle melee. I still refrain from building fresh gear for me, but enhancing gear is legit.

Unfortunately, having finally finished the mage guild questline, it marks the last questline (other than Vampire side of the Dawnguard questline, which I'm frankly not really interested in that much; too many god damn Falmer in that god damn end zone) I personally needed to complete. Prior characters covered every other questline. Part of me wants to start fresh and just... wander around, ignoring all the quests, hunting random crap and what not.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by Tergon

...I think I just had the most epic moment I've ever seen in Skyrim.

I'd previously cleared the Dragon's Lair at Autumnwatch Towers (south of Ivarstead, near the Ruins of Bthalft). Did so fairly early on. But I then recieved a bounty to go and clear it again, so I figured why not? It's one of my favourite dragon sites to clear, especially with a stealth character - climbing up the tower and stealth-attacking the dragon while it sleeps to see if you can kill it in one hit.
So I got on my trusty skeletal horsey and fast-travelled to Autumnwatch. Problem was, when I arrived, I wasn't alone - an Elder Dragon randomly spawned as I arrived, giving me two dragons to deal with. The battle woke up the Frost Dragon that lived at Autumnwatch, so I backed up a little toward the nearby Imperial camp to get some help. Problem: when I got there, the soldiers were fighting a second Elder Dragon.

Keep in mind this is Master difficulty, where one dragon can pose a considerable threat all by its lonesome, let alone three of the bastards, let alone if two of them are Elder dragons. And to re-iterate, I'm a stealth character, so there was going to be no hope of an Atronach or a Daedra to help me fight this battle. Not to mention that because I'd been planning on sneaking past a sleeping dragon, I'd told my follower to depart.
What I did have was a camp of Imperial meatshields, a full suit of upgraded Dragonscale Armour, two upgraded Dragonbone Daggers, one upgraded Dragonbone Bow, one upgraded Dragonbone Sword, 500 Dragonbone Arrows, and a pack full of potions. I also had a certain dragon named Durnehviir who owed me a favour or two.
The ensuing battle cannot be adequately described in words. One side consisted of me, Durnehviir, and the Imperial camp. The other side consisted of three very powerful and very pissed-off dragons. We also had some intervention from about four bears, three large frostbite spiders, and the bandits from the Ruins of Bthalft who heard the ruckus and came to investigate, all of whom randomly attacked anyone they bumped into. I have never encountered a battle like this before.
The Imperials did exactly what I expected them to do (they died like tiny, tiny bitches), but they managed to take down one of the Elder Dragons as they did so. The bears mostly wiped out the Bandits of Bthalft before getting roasted, while the spiders intelligently chose to attack me for reasons I'm not really clear on. They died. The bears didn't last long after they tried to melee the remaining Elder Dragon when it landed, but the distraction was enough for me to kill it. That just left the original Frost Dragon I'd come to Autumnwatch to kill, versus Durnehviir and myself. We managed to get it down to about 1/3 health, at which point it crash-landed halfway between Autumnwatch and the Imperial Camp. I equipped the Dragonbone Sword in one hand, a Dragonbone Dagger in the other, chugged a Resist Cold potion, and charged. With Durnehviir providing ranged support from above, it took about ten hits before I triggered the critical kill animation, jumping into its head and stabbing it through the eye. Durnehviir vanished almost immediately afterwards, leaving exactly one survivor of the battle: Me.

I then went back to Riften and I collected my 150gp bounty because I had goddamn earned it.

I love this game so much.

That is EPIC!!

Originally Posted by Cobalt

I can imagine a scene where you try to explain why you deserve so much more gold, and everyone in the room looks at you, looks at each other, and then says 'naaah', before tossing you a pouch of pocket change and telling you to be on your way.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

That should help, Armin. I've had trouble like that before by accidentally setting the graphics too high.

NineThePuma: There's always the "no combat skills" path. It's pretty fun! Play as a support or a healer to keep your companion alive, or else just as a "pure" thief. Offensive pickpocketing or sneaking around enemies is fun, though you have to run like hell if you ever get seen by a dragon and you don't have backup.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Sorry for the double post...

Originally Posted by Silverraptor

At which point you FUS RO DAH them all through a wall.

Yeah, there really is a point where you have to wonder where the damn respect is. You're the guy who just killed the crap out of a literal army of dragons led by the immortal son of Akatosh, and some puny guard is demanding I pay a 40gp bounty because some idiot got in the way of my shout while I was saving them from a bear. I mean, at that point, going on a wild slaughter is really the only reasonable response.

Originally Posted by Aniu

While I've never quite reached that level of epicness... My favourite battle of all time also involved a bounty on a dragon, at Shearpoint I believe. I was playing as an archer rogue, and so was sneaking up the mountain. Keep in mind that this is fairly early game... I think I was still wearing leather armour and had an imperial bow equipped. Suddenly, dragon attack! I shrug, guessing that it spotted me through the sneak skill, and start fighting back... when the actual bounty dragon wakes up from the commotion and joins in the fray. Running to and fro, attempting to dodge attacks and fire off arrows, I eventually come near the wall and sarcophagus... which opens as a dragon priest wakes up too. Long story short, thanks to potions and terrain use I had the most fun combat that I had ever faced... I just pictured my char standing on the bodies of the slain heroically. Yeah, I'm the Dragonborn alright.

Yeah, the Dragon Bounty quests are much more dangerous than you think at higher levels. Since you're going to an area where you're guaranteed to bump into a dragon, and then you have to worry about anything else that could randomly spawn there with you. A bunch of hostile Thalmor, a Dark Brotherhood Assassin, some Hired Thugs, or in my case, not one but two randomly spawning dragons. It can be pretty nasty if the random event generator doesn't like you.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by Tergon

That should help, Armin. I've had trouble like that before by accidentally setting the graphics too high.

NineThePuma: There's always the "no combat skills" path. It's pretty fun! Play as a support or a healer to keep your companion alive, or else just as a "pure" thief. Offensive pickpocketing or sneaking around enemies is fun, though you have to run like hell if you ever get seen by a dragon and you don't have backup.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by Tergon

NineThePuma: There's always the "no combat skills" path. It's pretty fun! Play as a support or a healer to keep your companion alive, or else just as a "pure" thief. Offensive pickpocketing or sneaking around enemies is fun, though you have to run like hell if you ever get seen by a dragon and you don't have backup.

Tried it. It wasn't really all that new or exciting, to be honest. My normal operation is to sneak in and only kill people if they're A: mandatory, or B: about to detect me. Alternatively, I shoot the bajesus out of everything with my bow from a far or run in dual wielding glass swords and slicing people to bits.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by Aniu

While I've never quite reached that level of epicness... My favourite battle of all time also involved a bounty on a dragon, at Shearpoint I believe. I was playing as an archer rogue, and so was sneaking up the mountain. Keep in mind that this is fairly early game... I think I was still wearing leather armour and had an imperial bow equipped. Suddenly, dragon attack! I shrug, guessing that it spotted me through the sneak skill, and start fighting back... when the actual bounty dragon wakes up from the commotion and joins in the fray. Running to and fro, attempting to dodge attacks and fire off arrows, I eventually come near the wall and sarcophagus... which opens as a dragon priest wakes up too. Long story short, thanks to potions and terrain use I had the most fun combat that I had ever faced... I just pictured my char standing on the bodies of the slain heroically. Yeah, I'm the Dragonborn alright.

Oh gods, bloody Shearpoint. I view that frigid mountaintop with a mixture of anger and fear. Nothing quite like randomly encountering a bloody Dragon-priest out in the world to make you curse the fates that clearly despise you. Especially since the first time I did that, the word of power effect had started when the coffin opened, so the screen was dark and obscured and I couldn't bloody see who was throwing fireballs at my level 8 character...

"Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by NineThePuma

Tried it. It wasn't really all that new or exciting, to be honest. My normal operation is to sneak in and only kill people if they're A: mandatory, or B: about to detect me. Alternatively, I shoot the bajesus out of everything with my bow from a far or run in dual wielding glass swords and slicing people to bits.

Well then the obvious one - take the biggest weapon you can find, or a weapon and a big shield, and play a berserker. Just run in Shouting like mad and smash the baddies into pulp. See how you can do if you wave goodbye to strategy and subtlety and just take the direct approach. It's actually surprisingly entertaining, I thought I'd get bored with it, but there's something to be said for how it feels to be crushing skulls while a half-dozen mooks bounce their useless swords off you to no effect.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Plus, the decapitation related critical hits for Greatswords are rather satisfying. The head just goes flying away on a graceful, arcing course that seems to always manage to hit your follower in the face.

(That last part might just be me and coincidence, but still, I found it morbidly hilarious).

Though do be careful when the enemies start having shields and are smart enough to actually shield bash you. That's just no fun at all. On the other hand, it's practically what shouting was made for...

"Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by Tergon

...I think I just had the most epic moment I've ever seen in Skyrim.

**Hands you a blue ribbon**
You have now set the bar on epic dragon battles! Best I ever got was two blood dragons at once and nothing else in the area. One of the dragons flew off before I could finish it.

Originally Posted by Maugan Ra

Though do be careful when the enemies start having shields and are smart enough to actually shield bash you. That's just no fun at all.

Lydia in my game *LOVES* to shield bash in a fight. She's killed a few people that way. O_o
"Best Bash" was when I was at Largashbur for the daedric quest. I had just gotten the items Atub needed and handed to her, where she says "Come, you are now a part of this."

That's when an elder dragon landed at the gate from... hammerspace I guess.
No warning at all. All the orcs ran like scared puppies (I can see why this place was cursed), but Lydia charged it through it's flaming breath like a boss and proceeded to stunlock the dragon with her shieldbashing. This gave me the chance to activate my Slow Time shout and then rain arrows at the dragon's head.

I found a high-level fire resistance ring on the dragon.
*Beat* "Lydia, this is yours."

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

An awkward situation came up in Skyrim today. I was following the quest from the priestess of Mara to help Calcelmo with his love life. Unfortunately, it turned out that his beloved was the bodyguard of the old Jarl, who the Stormcloaks kicked out of Markarth. So to talk to her I had to go to Solitude. There she was in a room full of Jals I'd helped evict and their servants. Awkward. And of course, now Calcelmo ran to her as well and he's still not back after 12 hours.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by Morty

An awkward situation came up in Skyrim today. I was following the quest from the priestess of Mara to help Calcelmo with his love life. Unfortunately, it turned out that his beloved was the bodyguard of the old Jarl, who the Stormcloaks kicked out of Markarth. So to talk to her I had to go to Solitude. There she was in a room full of Jals I'd helped evict and their servants. Awkward. And of course, now Calcelmo ran to her as well and he's still not back after 12 hours.

Helping the Stormcloaks never pays.

Originally Posted by M'aiq the Liar

The Wood Elves are not made of wood and the Sea Elves are not made of water. M'aiq still wonders about the High Elves.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by DigoDragon

That's when an elder dragon landed at the gate from... hammerspace I guess.
No warning at all. All the orcs ran like scared puppies (I can see why this place was cursed), but Lydia charged it through it's flaming breath like a boss and proceeded to stunlock the dragon with her shieldbashing. This gave me the chance to activate my Slow Time shout and then rain arrows at the dragon's head.

I found a high-level fire resistance ring on the dragon.
*Beat* "Lydia, this is yours."

Ah, the fearsome hammerspace dragons. Truly, they are a scourge. I still remember the most notable time that happened to me, traveling through the Reach, and the conversation that I like to imagine took place:

*ground shakes*
"...Lydia, did a Dragon just land behind us?"
"I believe so, my Thane."
"Like, behind us, in the narrow mountain pass where we have no way to make best use of our bows? For the sake of clarity, you know."
"They are reputed to be fearsomely intelligent beasts."
"...Wonderful. Right then. Should be interesting."

Though I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who enjoys using Slow Time. Personally, I paired it with twin glass swords. 95% of the time, raw damage output was more than enough to utterly murder an entire group of enemies before the shout ran out. If it was a good day, the last one would die before the first even hit the floor.

"Not trusting me might be the smartest decision you made since getting off of your horse."

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

My favorite dragon battle was my first non-plot one, when I'd just gotten the game for the first time.

I was just exploring the Whiterun region when I found myself at the hill overlooking the southern entrance to Labrynthian. I climbed a hill to see what the draconic looking icon meant and I found out - it meant a dragon.

Now, I'm level 5 to be generous, never had to fight a dragon on my own, didn't recruit Lydia yet, hadn't played the game before, and Nord frost resistance does little against fire breath.

So I was dancing like mad, bouncing between pillars, trying to fill the dragon's hide with ancient nord arrows from my ancient nord bow, while running for cover from the fire breath at every turn.

It took me several tries to get him down, primarily because he tended to get bored and fly off.

It was frustrating, it was intense, it was memorable.

Last edited by Calemyr; 2012-09-05 at 12:01 PM.

Originally Posted by M'aiq the Liar

The Wood Elves are not made of wood and the Sea Elves are not made of water. M'aiq still wonders about the High Elves.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

Originally Posted by DigoDragon

I found a high-level fire resistance ring on the dragon.
*Beat* "Lydia, this is yours."

...and she whined about it.

I like abusing the crafting system to make ridiculously overpowered armor, so unlocking the dragon armor perk was an important milestone for me. (Besides, the chest of dragon bits was getting embarrassingly full.) I celebrated by making full new suits of armor for each of us. I presented Lydia with her dragonplate of awesomeness (with some weapons to accessorize), and she whined.

Look, my loyal housecarl. This armor was crafted as a gift for you by me, your thane, with my own hands. It is made from the bones of dragons we have slain together, and enchanted by the archmage--in other words, also with my own hands. I have done this to protect you, as you protect me, in the face of the terrible dangers we must face to save our world. This armor will hold its own place in legend, outshining even the armor of the gods themselves. In a thousand years, the new Chosen One will quest for your armor in order to face a terrible threat to the world.

And you're going to complain about carrying it? Fine. Here's a ring with a Fortify Carry Weight effect. Now shut up and soldier.

On a completely different topic, I find myself wishing Serana would actually make stuff when she messes around with equipment, even if it's junk.

Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim

A Song of Ice and Fire, or Game of Thrones if you'd prefer. It's Littlefinger's character-defining line to Ned Stark after he arrives in King's Landing in the first book. It might be in the TV series as well, I don't remember.

Originally Posted by Zap Dynamic

I want to create a world that is full of possibility, and one of the best ways to handle it is by creating a bunch of stories that haven't yet been finished.

Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c

At this point, however, I'm thinking way too hard about the practical problems of running a battle royale school for Russian assassins, so I think I'll leave it there.

In my posts, smilies generally correspond to my expression at the time. As an example, means "huh?" and "Hmm..". Also, "Landis" is fine.